- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Policy and Law
A Native American former employee of Zurich American Insurance Company has filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and retaliation by the property and casualty insurance provider.
Lacy Nickol, a descendant of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, claims in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana that Zurich discriminated against her based on her race and terminated her employment in retaliation for filing an internal ethics complaint.
According to the lawsuit, Nickol worked remotely from Montana as a Crop Claims Care Center Manager for Zurich from October 2021 to October 2023. She alleges that after disclosing her Native American heritage to her supervisor during a mid-year performance review in June 2023, she began facing increased scrutiny and criticism of her work.
The complaint states that prior to this disclosure, Nickol had received positive performance reviews and no indication of job performance issues. It claims her supervisor then began subjecting her to "heightened scrutiny" and "unwarranted and unfounded" criticism not faced by non-Native employees.
Nickol alleges she received a formal reprimand in August 2023 for "alleged inadequacies" in her performance. She filed an internal ethics complaint on September 15, 2023, alleging race-based discrimination. The company terminated her employment less than a month later on October 10, 2023.
The lawsuit seeks damages for economic losses, mental anguish, and pain and suffering. It also requests injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination by the company.
Zurich American Insurance Company, headquartered in New York, is authorized to conduct business in Montana. The company, a subsidiary of the Swiss firm Zurich Insurance, has not yet filed a response to the complaint in court.
